Staff & Board

Staff

Gwen Barlee, Policy Director, Executive Team member

Gwen came to the Wilderness Committee in 2001 with a background in political science and a passion for environmental and social advocacy. Her diverse education and experience includes social work, film production, and web development, and she is a past executive team member of the Victoria chapter of the Council of Canadians. Today, Gwen is the Wilderness Committee's Policy Director, and a member of the executive team. Although her focus has been on species at risk, Gwen is also active in our resource policy and parks campaigns, and she can be found working passionately on almost any issue the Wilderness Committee is involved with. Here is a video clip of Gwen working to save BC's wild rivers.

Beth Clarke, Develoment and Program Director, Executive Team member  

Beth has just joined the Wilderness Committee in 2010, recently returning from 8 years of working in Costa Rica in the area of organizational strengthening with a local social organization, and as a cooperant with CUSO-VSO. She has a Masters degree and work experience in international development that has taken her to different parts of Africa and Latin America, as well as to nearly every province and territory in Canada. Originally from the Canadian prairies, she has dedicated the last 20 years to working, volunteering and writing for social, economic, political and environmental justice. Her free time is dedicated to her son.

Joe Foy, National Campaign Director, Executive Team member

As a child growing up in the Fraser Valley, Joe loved to hike and fish in the country surrounding his home - but it was his love of the Stein Valley wilderness that led him to begin volunteering with the Wilderness Committee in 1984. In 1987 Joe became the Wilderness Committee's first paid campaigner and initiated the Lower Mainland Pocket Wilderness Campaign. Since then, Joe has been the driving force behind many of our campaigns, and has led the Wilderness Committee to successfully protect spectacular areas such as the Elaho Valley, Boise/Pinecone/Burke, and the Stein, Carmanah and Lower Walbran Valleys. Joe's passion for the wild shines through in his speeches at rallies, to media, and to the public. In all of his front line work, Joe is inspired and informed by his love for wilderness and the thousands of hours he has spent exploring BC's wild places. Here is a video clip of Joe in action defending BC's ancient forests.

Matt Jong, Comptroller, Executive Team member

Matt joined the Wilderness Committee in 1998 as our comptroller, and is ultimately responsible for all aspects of the organization's financial management. Matt received his CMA from UBC in 1969 and spent several years with a firm of chartered accountants before moving on to sales and administration in a brokerage firm, where he was a vice president and director. He then spent 20 years in the investment industry, which he later parlayed into consulting work for both government and private companies. Matt's desire to contribute towards environmental and wilderness protection led him to the Wilderness Committee, and his dedication and diverse background are a great asset to the organization, both as our financial manager and as a member of our executive team and Board of Directors.

Monalisa Amirsetia, Accounting, Vancouver
Monalisa began volunteering for the Wilderness Committee while completing her psychology degree at UBC, and has been involved ever since. During a campaign with the Penan people of Malaysia in the late 1980s, she provided translation services, and helped to run the publicity and public outreach side of the campaign in Malaysia. Monalisa gained her accounting expertise while running her own company and from a range of financial training and certification programs. She was hired on to the accounting department in 1991, where she is now responsible for most aspects of the Wilderness Committee's accounting system.

Sven Biggs, Outreach Director, Vancouver
Born and raised in London, Ontario, Sven came to the Wilderness Committee in 2006. As our Membership Services and Public Outreach Assistant, Sven has held down the fort as an indispensable jack of all trades. Sven feels the most important part of the work we do is to help citizens get involved in the democratic process. In his free time, Sven can be found researching arcane global political trivia.

Tria Donaldson, Pacific Coast Campaigner, Victoria

 After many years of organizing in the youth environment movement, Tria Donaldson is excited to be joining the Wilderness Committee team. First introduced to the Wilderness Committee at a training camp for environmental Justice, Tria was inspired by the Wilderness Committee's grassroots approach.
Tria brings many years of experience working on climate justice and the environment. She is passionate about dealing with environmental issues in a fair and equitable manner that includes addressing systemic oppression and inequality. She is an active volunteer with several organizations, including the Sierra Youth Coalition, the Canadian Youth Coalition and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. In recent months Tria travelled to Copenhagen with the Canadian Youth Delegation for the climate talks, and was the Project Manager for goBeyond, a youth driven climate project that works with 12 post-secondary institutions in BC. Here is a video clip of Tria working to protect BC's Peace River Valley from the proposed Site C Dam.
 

Deborah Drouin, Membership Services, Vancouver

Deborah joined the Wilderness Committee in 1997 in the membership services department. She handles the Wilderness Savings Plan (monthly giving), manages our membership database, processes donations and membership fees, and supervises the preparation and distribution of membership materials. Deborah also provides assistance in the finance and accounting department.

 
Sue Fox, Communications Director, Vancouver

Sue Fox became involved with the Wilderness Committee in 1989 during a campaign to bring to light the destruction of the environment and culture of the Penan people of Malaysia. She is a graphic artist by trade, and studied at both the Fanshawe School of Art and Design and the Ontario School of Fine Arts. Her graphic design background led her to the Wilderness Committee, where she co-founded the WILD campaign, and later became our communications director. Sue now oversees the creation and production of all of the Wilderness Committee's publications, and is also responsible for our product department and many aspects of our public outreach program. Beyond her passion for saving wilderness and endangered species, Sue sits on the board of directors of City Farmer, and owns her own graphic design company. Her hobbies include gardening and calligraphy, and she is involved with the birthing and midwifery movement as a Doula.

Stephanie Gribble, Volunteer Coordinator, Vancouver
Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Stephanie spent a number of years living and traveling around Europe. Returning to her birthplace, Stephanie started to get involved in social change organizations like Friends of the Earth, Food not Bombs and the Wilderness Society. After moving to Canada and having visited every province, she settled in Vancouver in 2005 where she started to work as a canvasser at the Wilderness Committee then as the wholesale distributor and volunteer coordinator. She finds working with a variety of people at the Wilderness Committee immensely rewarding and particularly appreciates the opportunities that her work gives her to get out and explore the backcountry. In her free time Stephanie enjoys hiking, camping, reading, knitting, baking yummy homemade bread, painting, and feeding ducks with her husband and young daughter.

Emil Hadad, Volunteer Coordinator & Fundraising Assistant, Vancouver

Emil was raised in a socially and environmentally-conscious household in his native Indonesia before moving to Canada as a teenager. Interested in sustainability, youth leadership and the importance of cultural understanding, he became involved during his college years and spent more than two years living in Malaysia and Australia. After completing his Economics and Environmental Studies degree at the University of Victoria, he spent a year working and volunteering at several Vancouver-based environmental organizations and found himself joining the Wilderness Committee as a canvasser in early 2011. An avid nature lover, he enjoys going camping and hiking whenever he can. In his spare time he is most likely found discussing movies and music with his friends or enjoying his solitude reading a good book and daydreaming about traveling.
 

Cheyenne Keith, Membership Servicing, Vancouver

Cheyenne has volunteered for the Wilderness Committee since October 2007, attending her first protest with us for our Salmon campaign, standing up for wild salmon in protest of fish farms on our Pacific Coast. In her current position as Administrative Assistant, Cheyenne helps out with our membership servicing, including data entry, processing mail and attending to member requests. In her own time, Cheyenne is interested in crafting, dancing, yoga, camping, swimming and boating and can often be found outside enjoying the sun.

JP LeFrank, Printer and Distribution Coordinator, Vancouver

JP LeFrank is a photographer and photojournalist by trade, and has submitted images to the Wilderness Committee for over 15 years. A childhood camper and lover of wild places, JP has always had a passion for protecting the wild, in particular our old growth forests. In his position as Printer/Distribution Co-ordinator, JP is happy to say our paper supplier ensures no trees were felled to produce our in-house printing for our membership. An avid sportsman, you can find JP in the hockey rink, the baseball diamond, and launching potatoes.

Aimee Macdonald, Canvass Director, Vancouver

After completing her BSc in Biology and Environmental Science from McGill University, Aimee moved back to Vancouver to be near the ocean and mountains. When a Wilderness Committee door canvasser visited Aimee, she 'reverse canvassed' them for a job.  Aimee has worked with other organizations such as the Environmental Youth Alliance, where she worked on a community garden project in elementary schools, bridging concepts of food sustainability and urban gardening for youth. An active lover of the woods, Aimee can be found riding her bike between urban pockets of nature.

Shaine Macleod, Outreach Director, Toronto

With a passion for social advocacy, Shaine first became involved in the environmental movement while studying business. Eventually working full-time for many of the local grassroot organizations, by the summer of 2003 he joined WCWC re-establishing the Toronto office. Having made his life’s work out of public outreach, Shaine believes that community awareness and involvement is a critical part of any successful campaign. As Outreach Director, Shaine coordinates the canvass office, educating the public on current issues. His goal is to renew and rebuild membership in the “Big Smoke” of the Greater Toronto Area. In his free time, Shaine enjoys cycling and camping; as well, he has an avid enthusiasm for strategy games.

Andy Miller, Staff Scientist, Vancouver

Andy Miller has performed many functions at the Wilderness Committee since he started volunteering in 1991. His duties have ranged from door-to-door canvasser, to mail room clerk, to staff scientist, to helping out with the smooth running of the Wilderness Committee's field offices to his current job of running our field operations. Andy has advanced degrees in biology and forestry and specializes in old growth forest ecology. When he is not beavering away on his work, you can catch him in the great outdoors pursuing his favorite activity, bird watching. This is a video clip of Andy at one of our spotted owl research camps.

Kalyn Murdock, Assistant Campaigner, Manitoba

Kalyn graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and International Development Studies from the University of Winnipeg. She worked at YMCA-YWCA Camp Stephens in Lake of the Woods for eight wonderful years and discovered her traveling bug while exploring all the continents. After graduation she worked for several months in Moshi, Tanzania at a grassroots women’s microfinance and education cooperative. She then spent several years in Ontario moving with the seasons as a year-round outdoor guide leading whitewater canoe trips and dogsled expeditions. This past year she was in Toronto at Humber College obtaining a Post Graduate Certificate in International Project Management. She is excited to be back in her home province and looking forward to helping protect its magnificent wild spaces.
 
Derrick O'Keefe, Communications Assistant, Vancouver

Derrick O'Keefe joined the Wilderness Committee in 2010. He is the former editor of the progressive Canadian news site rabble.ca, and the co-writer of A Woman Among Warlords, the life story of the renown Afghan human rights activist Malalai Joya. Derrick has degrees in Geography and Education from the University of British Columbia, and is a volunteer organizer on many campaigns against war and for climate and social justice.

 
Eric Reder, Campaign Director, Manitoba

Eric has worked for the Wilderness Committee since 2003 as a canvasser. Eric is a multi-talented man who has performed successfully as a campaigner, publisher, photographer, director of a national sports organization, carpenter, communications director and coach.

His valuable work experience is complemented by a strong background as an avid and accomplished outdoorsman. First-hand knowledge of many wild spaces has instilled a deep appreciation for their beauty and value, strengthening Eric's resolve to protect them. Eric spent much of his youth in the wilderness east of Lake Winnipeg, stating with his first paddling trip at age four. Since then he has journeyed through much of Canada's wildlands, and many U.S. wilderness areas as well. Here is a video clip with Eric speaking about our campaign to protect Manitoba's At Risk woodland caribou population.

Matthew Sasaki, Operations Director, Vancouver

After spending most of his teenage years focussed on how to amass a great fortune at any cost, Matthew started reading about the consequences of stratospheric ozone layer depletion and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster which were catalysts in rearranging his priorities to protect the Earth's ecosystems. He completed a degree in Environmental Studies, and has spent numerous years working in the nonprofit sector particularly towards conservation, including several years teaching environmental education around BC. He'll even fit in the odd jazz gig on tenor sax when time permits, and, with his wife and son, tries to get into the wild as much as possible.

Geoff Senichenko, Research and Mapping Director, Vancouver

Geoff has had a love for wilderness and nature ever since he was a kid growing up going camping with his family. Geoff studied ecology and environmental science at the University of BC and graduated in 1998. He then went on to do ecological consulting and ecosystem mapping work for several years. Geoff wanted to do more to promote wilderness conservation, so he joined the Wilderness Committee as a canvasser in 2003 and then became research and mapping director in the summer of 2004. He is responsible for mapping projects and providing research support to the campaigners. He also participates in field expeditions, as he enjoys hiking and exploring wilderness areas both in and out of work.

Perry Sky Jack, Graphic Designer, Vancouver

Perry came to the Wilderness Committee in 2010 as our graphic designer, where he is responsible for the design of all the Wilderness Committee printed materials, as well as artwork for activities and digital media. Perry gained his graphic design expertise while running his own company, working in design firms with training at VFS - Digital Design program, plus other design certification programs. He likes to keep on learning new styles by keeping up with what's current, evolving his own style influenced strongly by his spiritual background and urban painting. In his spare time he helps raise his two daughters, taking them out as much as he can.
 

Ben West, Healthy Communities Campaigner, Vancouver

As the Healthy Communities Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee Ben is responsible for organizing grassroots campaigns related to fighting climate change and reducing toxic pollution. He spends most of his time these days trying to stop oil tankers from exporting heavy crude oil through the BC coast. In all his work Ben is driven by his passion for environmental justice, and ecological literacy. In his spare time Ben is a videographer, juggler (with #MadSkillz), twitter addict (@BenWest) and wannabe stand up comedian.

Here's a video clip of Ben calling for a ban on crude oil tankers entering Vancouver Harbour to haul away Canadian Tar Sands Oil to California and China.

Board of Directors

• Diana VanderVeen, Chair
• Devon Page, Vice-Chair
• Mark Haddock, Treasurer
• Mike Gildersleeve, Director
• Paul Morgan, Director
• Ross Muirhead, Director
• Tom Perry, Director
• John Calvert, Director
• Sage Aaron, Director 

List of former Wilderness Committee staff